The unadjusted unemployment rate for May in the United States was 6.1 percent. Rhode Island’s rate was 8.2 percent, and Massachusetts posted 5.2 rate. The May rate for Maine was 5.9 percent, Vermont was at 3.2 percent (giving it the second lowest rate in the country) and Connecticut recorded 5.7 percent.

In the table of U.S. states, New Hampshire’s unadjusted jobless rate ranked it in 11th position — it was ranked 10th in April. Rhode Island’s rate once again was the worst in the country, while North Dakota, where oil extraction from shale is booming, headed the table with an unemployment rate of 2.4 percent.

Note: The rates above are all U-3 numbers, which do not count so-called “discouraged workers” nor make allowances for people working part-time who cannot find a full-time position. Every three months, U-6 figures, which take such people into account, become available. In New Hampshire U-6 rates are typically running at over twice the rate of U-3 rates. The next set of available U-6 rates is expected to be released in mid-July.